A negative attitude in the workplace is damaging to employee morale, productivity, and outlook. If it isn’t addressed early on, it can have an insidious effect on company culture.

It’s vital to keep your eyes and ears open to signs of negativity to minimize the long-term effects it can bring to the workplace. The key is discovering ways to strategically combat it. Take a look at these insightful tips on managing negativity in the workplace from HR professionals.

1: Diagnose the Problem
Though we might feel compelled to sweep negative attitudes under the rug, it’s important to encounter them head-on. These conversations are never easy, but it’s important to have an open and honest conversation with employees who exhibit a negative attitude.

Take time to listen to your employee explain their situation. But be careful how you respond. You want to provide solutions—not take sides. Instead, thank them for sharing and move onto asking for specific examples on how their colleague is making them feel unhappy at work. Focus on gathering the facts and then strategizing a solution together from there.

2: Providing and Receiving Feedback
As a leader, your mission is to help employees achieve personal and professional growth; accomplishing this requires actionable and helpful feedback. Not only does this promote effective communication among staff, but it also produces positive and lasting results for the entire team. Be fully present by actively listening, this is key to successful communication and effectively finding solutions to negative attitudes.

3: Give Clear, Actionable Advice
When you’ve tackled the root cause of the negative behavior, it’s time to move forward with providing tangible advice. It’s all about planting yourself in the right state of mind. The key is guiding them on how to transform negative behaviors in a positive way that benefits them and their colleagues. It also helps communicate what is expected of them going forward.

For instance, if an employee complains about an ongoing issue in a client project, you can remind them of past wins and how, despite the hurdles, the team was able to come out on top. This can help them look at things in a more optimistic light that can be passed onto others.

4: Instill Positivity in the Workplace
Though it’s essential to mitigate the negativity with the strategies above, if you aren’t instilling positivity in your organization’s culture on top of that, the same problems will surface.

• Be Inclusive. Every employee wants to feel included and valued; it’s about being seen and heard.
• Reward employees for good ideas
• Giving opportunities to express opinions. Seek employees’ feedback on workplace policies and procedures and use their responses to help reframe them.

With so many different personalities, navigating negativity in the workplace can get complex and challenging. But by using the strategies above, you can find the determination and tools to wade through this journey and even more importantly, identify opportunities for productive growth.